RENO, NEVADA -- I have had the same problems with my Kia Sportage 2000 that everyone on here has had. Only I have had them all happen to my Kiddie Kia. The Kias are not well-made and I have made sure that everyone who has asked me knows that I don't recommend them at all. My lights, wipers, horn, windows, heater and AC would all stop working for about three minutes and then start again. They had to keep my car in the shop for a week to test it out enough.

My problem was fixed finally by replacing the entire starter. Then they had to wait for a month for the Kia dealership to send out the part they needed. Cost me over $300, but the repair shop was nice enough to give me a loaner. A Giant Cadillac for a 4'11" person. But at least I had transportation. Keep in mind this was not a Kia dealership. This was an independent repair shop in WI. I actually had to fight the dealership to get me a loaner until they finished fixing my paint properly. It bubbled and peeled, and they tried just painting over the peals with cover up paint. I looked it over and was so angry!

They had my car for a full day and it was like they put red nail polish on it to touch it up. What kind of fool do they think I am? A girl? Hey wait, I am a girl. Guess we are so stupid after all. In the end, I wound up with a loaner that they had to pay for, for more than two weeks. Then they had the nerve to complain to me that it was taking too long to get the part and they couldn't keep paying for the rental. Too bad. Not my problem. It took them almost four weeks in the end.

Currently my horn does not work. My engine light is always on. It says it is Bank One running too rich and a spark plug is misfiring. I got the expensive tune up, which is $500 through the dealer because they have to take the entire engine apart, so they say, and you would think that would have fixed the problem. However, it didn't. Still has the light on and sometimes off, but it still reads the same problem when analyzed. And every time you start it, the gas smell is overwhelming. The four wheel drive doesn't work, the hoses keep breaking from the metal piece that it is hooked to.

It handles like crap in the snow, unless you have the four-wheel drive, but even then, you can still have some problems. Even in the rain, my tail swerves back and forth. I finally put a 100lb of cement in the back of it, and that helped a lot. Some guy saw my car and said he knew what the problem was with my four-wheel drive because his has the same problem. It is an ongoing one so stock up on the hoses, because it took two months for him to get his in. I knew about the hoses because my brother told me to buy new ones. When I paid for them, it had been one month and still hadn't gotten them in.

So I asked for my money back. Said I was going some place else to buy the part. He said if I find the hoses, call him and let him know where. He had about ten other customers needing the same parts and all of them yelling at him because they were all on back order for over two months by that point. I still don't have the hoses. Another car repair place said I needed to get the modified vacuum seal hub. My brother fixes cars for a living, and he says this car is a horrible car, in my words. His are swear words. I like my car, and have told her several times it is not her fault, it is the dopes that built her with ** parts.

And for those of you who feel duped, don't feel too bad. Even the consumer reporters were duped. I investigated this car for a month and had all positive reports on this car with the Consumer Reports. However, now that time has passed, the reports are not so great. Oh, and all the Kia dealers are rude because the manufacturer jerks them around and they have to deal with all the angry customers.

I don't like it either, but the manufacturers are just not doing their job with replacing parts. Not to mention you can't buy a single part for Kia in the stores like Kragen, Pepboys, or any other car part place that is not a dealer. I couldn't even get the right light bulb for my dome light!

And finally, I hate it when people, including the dealers that sell you the cars, say, "You get what you pay for." That is a load of poop! I bought a Ford Festiva, new, for about five grand less, and I NEVER had a single problem in the six years I owned it. Just had to pay for normal, general maintenance, like oil changes and tune ups. I feel it would have kept going good and strong for many, many more years if that creep hadn't run a stop sign with his company truck, on a suspended license. So if you need an inexpensive car, that is good on gas, I would stick with Ford or Dodge. At least the parts can be bought quicker if you need them.

Good luck out there with your Kia and stay safe. P.S. My muffler has fallen off of the exhaust pipe too. In WI, they blamed it on the salt. Since it did it again here in Nevada, they say it is because it is so dry. Whatever, don't buy a Kia. You are asking for headaches.

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Kia A/C Condensers on 2013 Sportage

By Tina - 08/12/2013

Rating: 1/51

ROCKWALL, TEXAS -- Purchased a brand new 2013 Sportage with 100 miles on it. At 2,200 miles, I had no A/C 5 weeks later.... Took back to dealership and they called and said a rock had chipped my A/C condenser and it would cost me $850 and that it isn't covered under their warranty that they advertise. Which I believe don't nor won't cover anything. Help me find someone who has actually used their Kia warranty. LOL. Called Kia Corp. with a week-long runaround, got nowhere. They really don't care for their consumers. I am fixing the A/C not with the dealership.

I am dedicating my spare time to letting consumers know that if you are shopping for a new car, Kia isn't really the route you should take. Will not be a Kia consumer again.

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New Engine

By DISSATISSFIED - 07/12/2010

GEORGIA -- The 10-year 100-thousand-mile warranty isn't worth the paper they print it on. My Sportage at 74 thousand miles needs a new engine. The rod is knocking. I thought they would warranty the work. They informed me that if I didn't have all of my service records, that Kia wasn't going to warranty the work. I now have a JUST paid for car that I can't drive and I now have to put a new engine in it. I think that the car is designed to break down so that you either have to put a ton of money back into their hands with service or buying a new car.

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My First Show Room Car

By denise1 - 08/10/2008

BELLIARE, OHIO -- I never owned a new car but I purchase the Kia because of the great warranty and offering of the to free loaner car and coffee and donuts with oil changes and the car was just my size. Not hard to drive or park for a woman. My Kia had a Baja package on it.

Well at first, the windows in the car broke and that was about a month after purchase. One at a time, all 3 of the 4 doors. Then I started seeing the motor light coming on, which they said was from the gas cap not being turned a complete 3 twists. When I had a large hill to climb, it smelled like a hair perm, which they said was the new motor. The Baja package rusted within a year and was not from the Kia dealership at all. The car lot had put it on the car.

Now since they canceled my warranty, the motor light and the hold button light stays on all the time. Other garage stations tell me I have to replace the computer in the car. I don't have the money for that. I have had to repair the gas line in the top of the motor. It eats rotors. I don't drive that much.

Most of the miles put on the car was the long trips for servicing and oil changes. I stopped going for the long drives and get it done locally for a lot less. My warranty only lasted about 3.5 yrs and I am still paying the loan off. So much for a new car for me. I am afraid to drive the car that I was hoping to last me the rest of my life. It only has 40,000 miles on it yesterday. I drive about 5 miles daily in it.

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Kias Aren't Made to Last

By Lori2start - 10/15/2006

OLATHE, KANSAS -- I was finally in a place to buy a new car. I had always bought used cars in the past. I chose a 2001 Kia Sportage with the 100,000 mile/10-year warranty. I loved my Kia, that is until it hit 100,000. I took better care of this car than I ever did any other. I did all the required service, oil changes, etc. I wanted it to last me for years. I had no reason to think it wouldn't as well as I took care of it, but in the past 6 months since it hit 100,000 miles, I have had to replace the engine, the driver's side door handle broke off in my hand.

Now when I try to go to the bank and roll down the window, the door pops open. The passenger (driver's side) door lock doesn't work, nor will the window roll down, the latch to spring the tire out to open the back door has broken. I can no longer use the back of the car from groceries and storage. I keep wondering what's next. The car is falling apart around me and I haven't even finished paying for it. The used cars I had in the past lasted me 10 years or more and had 250,000 miles on them. The most I ever had break on one of them was to replace a clutch in one. I will never buy a Kia again.

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Warning! 2002 Kia Sportage Owners

By jim247 - 08/20/2006

NEW YORK -- If you own a 2002 Kia Sportage and don't want to go through the expensive 5-month electrical nightmare that I personally went through, then I would suggest that you take your 2002 Kia Sportage to your local Kia dealer and have them check the electrical wiring that is routed through the rear bumper in a unsafe location.

My personal experience: in January 06, the dashboard lights went out and the front and rear parking lights were not functioning. Brought the car to a local Kia dealer to evaluate and fix the electrical problem. They replaced some burnt out fuses and I picked up the car. Right after I left the dealer and arrived at home, the fuses were burnt out again and I was back to square one. This went on for months without the dealer(s) locating what the problem really was.

Annoyed and frustrated, I brought the car back to the dealer where I bought it from and they finally was able to locate the problem after nine hours of labor tracing the electrical wires from the harness in the front to the rear. Dealer claimed that I was in an accident which I was not or something hit the left side of the rear bumper causing the support bracket to press into the insulation of the electrical wiring causing the metal frame of the car to make contact with the exposed wire and shorting out the fuses.

Dealer refused to process this repair as a warranty and charged me 3 hours of labor at $90.00 per hour. Total bill with taxes: $293.29. Mechanic briefly mentioned that this problem would not happen again, because he rerouted the wires in a safer location in the rear bumper. If this was done when the car was assembled, I never would have had this problem. If you don't want this to happen to you, take your car to a local Kia dealer and have them check your electrical wiring in the rear bumper. It's just a matter of time before you might get hit in the bumper.

I was not hit in the rear bumper or in any kind of accident as the Kia dealer claims, because he saw a small scratch that one would get from a shopping cart brushing against it which does happen at your local shopping centers. Hope this helps everyone who owns a 2002 Kia Sportage and no, I will never buy a Kia again. They are a piece of crappy car and the dealers refuse to honor their 100,000 crappy warranty.

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Problem Car

By NOT PLZD - 03/20/2006

ARIZONA -- I am extremely unhappy with my 2002 Kia Sportage. I purchased the car brand new and it has literally broke down on me 8 times in the last 3 1/2 years. The first time at 11,000 mi in the middle of a busy highway! I have not had any problem taking it to the dealer and having it serviced under warranty - until now. Apparently my service records were adequate enough to have it fixed the first 8 times with no problem, but now that it needs a new engine at 84,000 miles, everyone is scratching their heads "wishing they could help."

Obviously once I passed the 60k mark, the burden of proof that I have not neglected my vehicle has become far greater... But even with my service records, it appears to be a waiting game. The dealer has had my car for almost two weeks and they are still determining if I "qualify." And no one has offered me a rental either. It's a good thing I recently purchased another vehicle because I knew this car was too unreliable. To be fair, my best friend purchased the same car and has not had any major issues with it. It's an absolutely horrible ride at 90k but at least it runs right?

However, for a customer that does have a problem car, it frustrates me that I have become the culprit - not the customer. Because of that, I would never recommend a Kia. FYI, the timing belt has jumped three times, I needed a new sensor, the driver window wouldn't go up all the way, the check engine light continually comes on, grinding noise due to poor pin tension, replaced fan clutch and crank pulley, etc.

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Sportage Electrical Short

By jim247 - 03/04/2006

VALLEY STREAM, NEW YORK -- I own a 2002 Kia Sportage and am now very unhappy that I even considered buying such a car which is now becoming a nightmare for me. I have a short in the electrical system that the Kia mechanics cannot locate. A fuse is being blown that is related to the dashboard lights and the switch for the headlights to turn off automatically when the engine is shut off instead the headlights stay on and discharges the battery.

Dealer #1 replaced fuse(s) and did not resolve the problem. Dealer #2 replaced fuse(s) again and charged me a $28.00 fee for a car that is under warranty. Brought the car back on a Wednesday and it is now the weekend and guess what, they still don't know what the problem is. Resolution: if the dealer can't find and fix the problem to my satisfaction, then the car should be classified as a lemon and want compensation to get a new car and let the dealer deal with the piece of crap that I bought brand new in 2002.

For everyone's info on this board, Kia had a $10 billion dollar debt before the creditors finally sold Kia to the highest bidder which was Hyundai who owns 51% which has been reduced to 36%. KIA CARS SUCKS.